Press release
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aprile 26, 2021 - FIA Junior WRC
Koci claims Croatian lead while Pajari has dramatic opening day
Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale.
The Junior WRC opened up with fresh faces joining familiar ones to give it their all in an effort to take home the biggest prize package in rallying.
Romanian #raulbadiu set the first benchmark of the day, taking the opening stage point of the championship, asserting his claim to being a bona fide title contender.
Badiu's day was not without mistakes though, underlining that pushing on the limit is not without its risk, going wide on stage 4 and sliding into a rock.
The Romanian emerged relatively unscathed and was able to make it back to service with luck firmly on his side.
Lady luck really wasn't smiling on Sami Pajari, coming into #croatia as one of the championship contenders it was clear he had the speed to win the #rally, winning the second stage by a convincing margin. Stage three looked to be another flyer for the Finn until a small mistake meant big consequences.
Miraculously the Finn was able to get his Fiesta Rally4 going and limped home back to service, haemorrhaging a lot of time. The M-Sport Poland team did their magic in the lunch time service, repairing Pajari's stricken Fiesta Rally4 with just enough time for him to escape service without a time penalty.
The Finn redeemed himself on the stages, taking stage wins on five and seven to add to his ever-important points tally.
Junior WRC rookie, William Creighton is focussing on finding his feet in the Junior category and gaining precious WRC road mileage. He finished the day sixth, but his day was not without mistakes.
Robert Virves admitted to not being able to find the right feeling on the asphalt of #croatiarally, his times were consistent throughout the day but just shy of podium contention.
Martins Sesks put in a relatively low-key performance on #croatia so far, still building his confidence and finding a good rhythm after a horror crash on the Junior WRC Championship Finale in 2020.
Returning to Junior WRC after a disappointing appearance on #rally Sweden in 2020 was Jon Armstrong. The 2018 Esports WRC Champion delivered consistent and mature stage times throughout the day challenging for top three times regularly, eventually ending the day third.
The final stage of the day saw the top three split by just 0.1 seconds with asphalt rookie Lauri Joona taking his first stage win of his career, eclipsing Pajari and Armstrong by a tenth of a second as the pair tied for second on the stage. The top-five on SS8 were covered by just 2.1s with Sesks finding confidence with fourth and #martinkoci fifth.
Martin Koci let his experience do the talking throughout #croatiarally, taking the lead and keeping it with minimal mistakes. Interestingly the Slovakian only claimed one stage win point but as proved by Pajari, stage win points don't necessarily translate into #event winning performances.
Maciej Woda, #fiajuniorwrc Team Director: "What an eventful day in Junior WRC! Sami Pajari definitely had some speed today, but he also shown this #rally takes no prisoners and it is very difficult. The pace in this year's field is mightily impressive, we have had four different stage winners on the opening day of the #rally, and I think there will be one or two more names on that list before the end of the weekend. #martinkoci delivered a very mature drive today, his experience really is showing, doing enough to keep the lead while everybody is fighting for top times. Lauri Joona has really impressed me today also, it is his first asphalt #rally ever and he is in second place with one stage win. It will be interesting to see how he develops. I said before the season got underway that this will be very competitive year and I wasn't wrong, 2.1 seconds separating the top five at the end of stage eight is a prime example of that. Saturday is going to be tough for these guys tomorrow, which makes it an exciting prospect for everybody watching."
Martin Koci, #fiajuniorwrc #rally Leader: "A tricky day but I'm really pleased with our position now, really happy with that. I am happy with the car, pace notes and the team. It was a good day, maybe nobody expected it to be as tricky as it was so I will have a good look at the onboard videos tonight for tomorrow's stages. I am very happy and staying focussed."
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